Wrens and Whips: But Not the Whip That You Might Quip

 CAPTAIN SAMS

This morning started out slow but picked up later in the day.  From 7:30-10:00am, we captured 27 birds but from 10:00-1:00pm we captured 42 birds.  Normally the first couple hours of the morning is the busiest but the last week or so we've been seeing this alternative trend.  A cold front came through today and tomorrow will be windier and much cooler.  It'll be interesting to see if this trend continues with a different weather pattern.  

We banded 36 new birds and had 33 recaptures of 11 species.  The highlight of the day was our 3rd Winter Wren of the season.  Little Bear also had one this fall.  Winter Wren is an uncommon winter resident and is not an annual catch at KIBS.  Before this season, we have only banded 10 of them (2 in 2012, 1 in 2016, 5 in 2019, 2 in 2021).  

Winter Wren (after hatch-year, sex unknown)

On Saturday, I had an encounter with a very large (5-6 feet) Eastern Coachwhip along the trail near the banding table.  It was not interested in moving off the trail and it reared-up like a cobra and open its mouth at me.  Later that day, I saw it again about 50 yards away and it was just as angry at me that time as it was earlier in the day.  Fast forward to today - as I was coming around the corner close to the banding table, I had to jump out of the way of the Coachwhip sitting in the exact same spot.  This time it just laid out across the trail and did not try to intimidate me.  I think we've come to an understanding now.   

The name "coachwhip" comes from the large tan scales on its long, tapering tail, which gives it the appearance of a braided bullwhip.  They are a long and slender snake that typically has a black head, neck, and anterior part of the body that transitions to light tan towards the tail.  They are extremely fast snakes that normally choose to flee when approached but if they feel threatened, they will assume a defensive posture and readily strike at a potential threat.      

Eastern Coachwhip

 

 -Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	1	-	-
Winter Wren	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	6	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	2	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	1	-	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	1	-	-
Pine Warbler	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	32	18	-	-
Painted Bunting	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	36	-	-
# of Recaptures	33	-	-
# of Species	11	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	195.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.3	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,464	3,345	8,809
# of Recaptures	1,348	941	2,289
# of Species	88	87	102
Effort (net-hours)	15,630.4	9,541.6	25,172
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	43.6	44.9	44.1
# of Days	95	80

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.